Kingdoms
Seoda-Kerry (Teilifis na Gaeilge)
Powerful Shadows (Radio One)
Solar Eclipse (RTÉ/SKY)
The Rose of Tralee Festival featured in TnaG's Seoda attracts a different type of clientele. Mutton-necked Garda ``shickaloneys'' compete with FCA recruits for the title of ``champion drinker'' while inside the hallowed dome Marty Whelan harangues hapless blonde Yanks to ``dance a few steps... go on ya girl ya''.
Seoda's beautiful footage was unfortunately polluted by Liam ó Murchú's clichés - ``fadó, fadó... ní inné ná inniu... ar nós na gaoithe''.
We were escorted around the Kingdom - Dick Spring's aquadome, Peig's Headstone and the Sunset of the Blaskets - and that was it. The omissions include, among many, Jackie Healy Rae and his hat; Pat Spillane; The `Bomber' Liston; Mick O'Connell kicking the ball from Valentia to the mainland; Ballyseedy Cross; Kate Kearney's Cottage; Yanks in Green Trousers; Martin Ferris and his heroics; Rain; Sex on the Beach (not in the rain); Spring's unveiling of a monument in `The Aud' in the wake of the `Marita Ann'; John ``no refugees'' O'Donoghue; The Listowel Races; Peig's babies falling off the cliff; Four-in-a-row; Joanne Hayes; More Rain and Yanks; Too Many Holiday Homes; Pubs; Pints of Guinness and Football.
Ensconced in her own ``kingdom'', Benazir Bhutto is utterly convinced that she did no wrong, despite the overwhelming evidence implicating her and her husband in the fraud and corruption that led to her sacking from the government - and the rare honour of being the only Pakistani Prime Minister to be fired from office twice.
Of a privileged background - her father had a 40,000-acre estate - she views her family as a bulwark against the anti-democratic forces of Pakistan (the military who executed her father in high office in 1977 or the enemy politicians who poisoned her brother).
While highlighting the widespread corruption that has beset Pakistan since freedom from colonial rule, her government did little to alleviate poverty or halt the enormous amounts spent on the military.
Just what all the fuss over the ``solar eclipse'' was is mystifying. We are coaxed and cajoled into witnessing ``this historic event'' yet warned not to open our eyes. Men in suits on RTE and Sky News explained the benefits. ``This is our best opportunity to study solar corona'' - which is about as useful to the vast majority of us as a bicycle is to a fish.
By Gilbert O Lughnasa
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